Lionel Messi to be reunited with former Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino at Inter Miami

Lionel Messi is set to be reunited with Gerardo Martino at Inter Miami after the Argentine was appointed as the new manager of the Major League Soccer side on Wednesday.

Martino, widely known as 'Tata', coached Messi at both Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He was most recently in charge of Mexico and previously worked in MLS with Atlanta United, winning the title in 2018.

Martino's arrival was widely expected after Miami, rock bottom of the Eastern Conference, fired their English coach Phil Neville.

The 60-year-old will take over the team, from interim Javier Morales, once his work documentation has been completed. He will soon be joined by Messi, who said earlier this month that he was joining Miami, co-owned by David Beckham, having opted to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his contract.

"We are very happy to be able to welcome Tata to Inter Miami. We feel he is a coach who matches our ambitions as a club and we're optimistic about what we can accomplish together," said Inter Miami Managing Owner Jorge Mas.

"Tata has coached at the highest levels and we believe that experience will be hugely beneficial to us as we aim to compete for titles here."

Martino played for and coached Argentine club Newell's Old Boys, where Messi played as a schoolboy.

"Tata is a highly respected figure in our sport whose track record speaks for itself," said Beckham. "We are confident that his achievements in the game and experience as a head coach will inspire our team and excite our fans and look forward to seeing the impact he will have on and off the field".

The South Florida club also expect to complete the signing of another of Martino's former charges at Barcelona, Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, and Mas has indicated Miami could bring in as many as five players during the summer transfer window.

Martino has been out of work since his contract with Mexico ended after a disappointing World Cup campaign where El Tri failed to get out of the group stage.

"I'm very excited to join a big club like Inter Miami and I know together we can accomplish many great things," said Martino. "The club has the necessary infrastructure to be a major competitor in the region and I believe that with everyone's hard work and commitment we can get there."

Gerardo Martino and Lionel Messi worked together at Barcelona in the 2013/14 season. AP

Martino made his mark as a coach in Paraguay, leading the national side to the runners-up spot in the 2011 Copa America.

After impressing at Newell's he had a season in charge of Barca in 2013-14 before taking over the Argentine national side for two years and then joined Atlanta in 2016.

Martino will also be re-united with Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez whose 31 goals in 2018 were crucial to Atlanta's MLS Cup triumph.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”